Black Milk - Perfected on Puritan Ave

Sunday's Best / Monday's Worst, the lead single off Black Milk's sixth solo album, won high marks thanks to the Detroit mainstay's masterful narrative bars, as well as his creativity behind the boards. Freshly-minted follow-up Perfected on Puritan Ave. boasts a similarly compelling combo of storytelling and formal experimentation. The cut opens with the artist poetically reflecting on the hopes and dreams that motivate a group of young hustlers, backed by a wobbly soul loop that sounds like it could have been sampled from an old cassette deck. Then, after the introduction of some disarmingly pretty brass and a short acoustic guitar-driven section, the joint takes a sharp turn into left field, transitioning into a freeform jazz freakout before returning to the main groove. If this innovative jam's piqued your interest, you can look forward to more dope surprises on Black Milk's No Poison No Paradise LP, scheduled for release in October.